WHEREAS, a high-quality education contributes to the economic and social well-being of a nation; and

WHEREAS, most industrialized countries recognize high-quality education as a right and support education through national public funding; and

WHEREAS, the education of students in the United States lags behind that of students in most other industrialized nations; and

WHEREAS, large inequities exist in educational quality across the nation; and

WHEREAS, these inequities are due primarily to varying levels of local funding for education as a result of diverse economic conditions; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that this body supports the right of every United States resident to access a high-quality public education, and urges the Congress of the United States to pass legislation for a federally-funded, high-quality public education system from the preschool to university level; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States,

the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, and the Superintendent of Education.

Report Title:

Federally-funded public education from preschool to university